Tottenham, Gareth Bale reunion wouldn’t make much sense
Tottenham are reportedly interested in reuniting with star winger Gareth Bale, but there are too many issues for this signing to actually make sense for Spurs.
Last season, Tottenham finished fourth in the Premier League, sandwiched in between other London-based clubs Chelsea and Arsenal, and made it into the Champions League final after unlikely victories over Ajax and Premier League champions Manchester City.
But while Tottenham’s 2018-2019 campaign was highly successful, they are an ambitious club who are hungrier to reach greater heights in 2019-2020. As such, they appear to be interested in signing one more marquee player after making midfielder Tanguy Ndombele their record signing.
That marquee player is none other than Gareth Bale.
According to a report from MARCA, Tottenham have shown interest in bringing back Bale, who is well out of favor in Real Madrid. While Bale is interested in competing for his spot at Real, Spurs could be one of the few destinations deemed attractive to the Welsh forward.
Bale was way out of form last season and is clearly no longer a part of Real’s future; Los Blancos want nothing more than to offload his massive salary. But Bale is still a world-class player on his day and had several amazing moments with Real, playing a key role in multiple Champions League-winning squads. He even once scored a bicycle kick in a Champions League Final.
If a deal between Real and Tottenham were to take place, then Madrid would almost certainly have to eat up a significant portion of Bale’s massive wages in order to make a deal palatable. Given that they want nothing more than to offload him, it seems like a request that could be granted by the La Liga giants.
MARCA reports that Tottenham are willing to spend between 50 and 60 million euros for Bale, and that’s where the problem begins. Even if Real eat up a portion of Bale’s salary, he’d still be a tough wage bill to foot, even with Spurs growing and getting more stadium revenue. So paying such a huge fee on top of that doesn’t make much sense. For a fraction of that price, Tottenham could sign a younger player coming off of a better season in Hakim Ziyech if they had interest in acquiring a winger with goal-scoring prowess.
That said, the lure of Bale is real. Bale is a club legend for Spurs, with his memorable night against Inter Milan in the Champions League living on. At Tottenham, Bale was world-class and impossible to defend on his day, and the thought of having him back for one last run is tantalizing. And Bale is, again, probably still a very good footballer.
Next. Arsenal should sign Ziyech. dark
The question is this: Is Bale worth 50-60 million euros as a 30-year-old winger with an injury history and high wages? Considering Tottenham could sign someone just as good for less, it’s probably not the most prudent signing.